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Improving the quality of life for people with diabetes is at the heart of Diabetes Canada’s commitment to all Canadians diagnosed with this chronic health condition. That means connecting children and youth with type 1 diabetes through Diabetes Canada’s D-Camps; providing healthcare professionals and people with diabetes with expert information that improves care and self-management; supporting researchers working on leading-edge treatments; and advocating on behalf of those with diabetes for equity, improved access to medications and supplies and more.
Diabetes Canada is one of the participants of Capacity Canada’s Human-Centred Design Thinking Program – Capacity by Design. The organization’s digital team has been using design thinking to complete a re-envisioning of its website based on stakeholder needs. The team consulted a wide variety of internal and external stakeholders and designed a user journey that incorporates the unique needs of their constituents. Once the new site is launched, Diabetes Canada plans to continue refining it based on stakeholder feedback.
“The whole human-centred design process was new to me. I appreciate everything about it. The cycle of developing a prototype, testing it, refining it and re-testing it has been particularly transformative,” shared Ann Besner, Senior Manager, Diabetes Knowledge and Connection, Diabetes Canada. “I like the idea that it’s acceptable to pilot something that’s ‘half-baked’, that it’s okay to arrive at a product or program only after many rounds of testing and refining, and that effective problem solving isn’t about coming up with a perfect solution immediately,” she added.
Diabetes Canada hopes the design-thinking process will also help the organization develop high-quality education and support assets for its constituents. “Spending time ideating is really useful for coming up with lots of different ways to meet stakeholder needs,” Ann shares.
While reflecting on learnings, Ann says the design-thinking process is broadly applicable, logical and effective. “It’s hard to think of a sector that wouldn’t stand to gain from using human-centred design principles in its work.”
Ann says she and her Diabetes Canada colleague, who were privileged to participate in the Collective, enjoyed their experience. She hopes to find a way to train more people within her team on human-centred design so that it can become a more widely used practice in her organization.
Learn more about Capacity By Design here.
